SAN DIEGO—Dominican men's basketball threatened Point Loma Nazarene University of an upset, as the Penguins attempted a comeback in late minutes of the game, but the Sea Lions prevailed, earning an 84-74 victory Thursday night at Golden Gymnasium. 
 
The Sea Lions (14-3, 10-1 PacWest) earned 10 second-chance points, out rebounding the Penguins 37-28 over the course of the game. Point Loma also shot 60% from three-point range in the second half to build an 11-point lead, and sustain the lead throughout the late minutes of regulation. Kaden Anderson finished with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Jordan May also went for 18 points, and collected six rebounds and three steals.
 
Dominican (4-14, 4-8 PacWest) had one of their best offensive performances in a single half in the first 20 minutes of the game, shooting 65.38% from the field, and going 5-of-8 from three-point range in the first half. But the Penguins were unable to carry those numbers into the second half, as their shooting percentage dropped to 36.67% and 27.27% from behind the arc in the second half. Jordan Williams was Dominican's leading scorer with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and one steal. 
 
Near the midway point of the first half, Sterling Somers helped the Sea Lions earn a 6-point lead by forcing his way through the paint for a lay-up off glass to give PLNU a 24-18 advantage. Sam Averbuck responded for the Penguins, nailing a three from the top of the arc to cut Point Loma's lead back to three. After trading baskets, Averbuck sank another three to tie the game at 26 apiece, but Darnell Robateau matched it with a three of his own to give the Sea Lions the three-point advantage once more with 8:26 left to go in the half.
 
From there, Jordan Williams sparked Dominican's offense, earning nine straight points for the Penguins after drawing a foul on a made lay-up and finished the three-point play from the foul line to give the Penguins a 35-34 lead over the Sea Lions. 
 
With 3:05 left in the half, Noah Stapes knocked down a three-pointer to bump PLNU to a 4-point lead, but this time it was Chase Anderson to retaliate with a three-pointer from the corner, and Sam Averbuck helped the Penguins earn a 40-39 lead with a midrange jumper on the following possession. PLNU fought back to regain the lead as Brock Mackenzie sank a jumper at the buzzer to send the Sea Lions into the locker room leading, 45-43. 
 
After making consecutive free throws, Jordan May forced Jordan Williams to turn the ball over, and May took it across court for a pull-up jumper to give Point Loma a 52-45 lead 1:50 into the second half. The Sea Lions continued to apply pressure on the defensive end, growing their lead to as many as 11 when Robateau forced another turnover from Anderson and took it coast-to-coast to give PLNU a 60-49 advantage. 
 
The Penguins managed to cut their deficit back down to five points when Jaelen Ragsdale stole the ball away from Josh Caston and passed it ahead to Jordan Williams in the paint for a lay-up, and Ragsdale knocked down a three-pointer on the following possession with 10:45 to go in regulation. 
 
After trading buckets, Lazar Djurovic grabbed an offensive board and put it back in to cut Domincian's deficit to 71-74. On the following possession, Djurovic forced the defense to collapse in the paint and kicked it out to Averbuck at the top of the arc to knock down a three, tying the game at 74 with 2:53 left on the clock. Somers responded with a jumper in the paint to take back the lead.
 
With 1:46 left to go and the Penguins down by two, Jordan Williams drove through the paint and dished it off to Djurovic underneath the basket, but Djurovic's layup rolled off the rim, and PLNU took advantage of the opportunity as May and Ben Okhotin sank back-to-back threes to extend Point Loma's lead to 82-74 to seal the victory. 
 
The Penguins will look to bounce back Saturday as they face Biola University at 4 p.m. PST. Live video and stats will be available online.